In spring, when the east wind passes, all kinds of grass flourish. On the surface of Wuliangsuhai Lake in Inner Mongolia, the water is bright and the sound of birds is full of ears. Warts nosed swans also fly back as promised. They play in the water together, sometimes dancing lightly and sometimes singing loudly. Wuliangsuhai is an epitome of the comprehensive strengthening of ecological environment protection and management and the continuous improvement of ecological environment in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It has become a paradise for more than 260 kinds of birds by controlling sand in the upstream, controlling water in the lake area and restoring grassland vegetation in the mountainous area. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China's ecological and environmental protection has achieved remarkable results, and major steps have been taken in the construction of a beautiful China. A beautiful picture of "green mountains without ink for thousands of years, green water without strings, ten thousand ancient Qin" is slowly spreading. At present, China has successfully curbed the expansion of desertification. The area of desertification and desertification land has continued to shrink at an average annual rate of 2424 square kilometers and 1980 square kilometers respectively. The ecological situation in the sand area has improved as a whole, realizing the historic transformation from "sand advancing and people retreating" to "green advancing and sand retreating". The harmonious coexistence between man and nature has become a strong background for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and China has become a new benchmark for global desert ecological governance. Scientific governance —— Realize great ecological changes In ancient China, the desert witnessed the pride of "the yellow sand wears gold armor in hundred battles, and the Loulan will not be returned if it is not broken", and carried the sadness of separation of "the people on the 10000 mile expedition in Guanshan are full of tears at the sight of Guanshan". "Desertification is not a disease. Desertification is a disease. Desertification is called the cancer of the earth. It can be cured!" Lu Qi, director of the sand forest center of the Chinese Academy of forestry and director of the Institute of desertification, said in an interview with this newspaper that one of the main manifestations of desertification in China is land desertification. Desertification prevention and control and land greening are major measures to curb land degradation in northern China and China's national action to deal with desertification. Lu Qi calls himself a "professional sand hand". He vividly compares sand control to a doctor: "we should form a systematic treatment plan, and there should be a follow-up rehabilitation plan after being cured and discharged from the hospital." China's "desertification control people" have been handed down from generation to generation, pushing through the old and bringing forth the new, casting a green barrier with scientific governance, and realizing great ecological changes. Reviewing the history of scientific sand control in New China, it is basically synchronized with the construction of the Republic. Lu Qi said that the exploration and practice of more than 70 years can be roughly divided into three stages: the initial stage of national mobilization and marching into the desert; Development stage driven by national will and project; Scientific governance, speed-up and efficiency promotion stage. In the early 1950s, China started the planning and exploration of national desertification control, and the work of desertification prevention and control was carried out steadily. The State Council has established a leading group for desertification control, established sand fixation and afforestation test stations in sand areas such as Zhangwu County, Liaoning Province and Minqin County, Gansu Province, established a shelter forest farm in Northern Shaanxi in Yulin, Shaanxi Province, realized the first aerial seeding afforestation and grass planting test, continuously accumulated desertification control experience and improved desertification control technology. In 1958, the Baotou Lanzhou railway, the world's first "desert Railway" through tall mobile dunes, was completed and crossed the Tengger Desert six times in Zhongwei, Ningxia. Among them, Shapotou section crosses the desert the longest, with exposed sand dunes, extremely low vegetation coverage, and the track is often attacked by quicksand. In the early stage of sand fixation and control, many sand fixation methods such as pebble pavement, asphalt sand mixing and straw mat blanket have been tried, but they have been buried by wind sand. During a work and leisure time, the staff of the forest farm stuck the words "man will conquer heaven" and "Zhongwei sand fixation forest farm" in the desert. They were overjoyed to find that the square words were not buried by the sand. After repeated experiments, researchers tied wheat straw or rice straw to 1 meter on the surface of mobile sand dunes × 1 meter square shape, forming a network structure. They are like guards in the sand sea, building a grass wall to imprison quicksand. "Wheat straw square" sand fixation method has gradually become famous in the world and is known as "Chinese magic cube". Based on the "wheat straw grid" technology, the "five belt in one" railway wind prevention and sand fixation system composed of sand fixation and fire prevention belt, irrigation and afforestation belt, grass barrier plant belt, front sand blocking belt and sand sealing and grass cultivation belt has been officially formed. Since then, Baotou Lanzhou railway has never been blocked by quicksand for more than 60 years. It is like a winding river, which is the green of life for the desert. In 1978, the State Council officially approved the construction project of "Three North" shelter forest system, which is a milestone in the history of ecological construction in China; Since 2000, a number of major national ecological projects have been launched, such as the project of returning farmland to forest and grassland and the project of controlling sandstorm sources in Beijing and Tianjin, opening a new stage of desertification control driven by major national ecological projects. Lu Qi said that China is the first country in the world to make special legislation on desertification prevention and control, which is also a great practice in the history of world desertification prevention and control. On January 1, 2002, the law of the people's Republic of China on national defense and desertification control was officially implemented, and the work of desertification prevention and control has stepped into the track of legalization. For more than 20 years, policy documents such as the national desertification prevention and control plan (2011-2020), the guidance of the general office of the State Council on scientific greening and the scheme for the closure, protection and restoration system of desertification land have scientifically and effectively guided the work of desertification prevention and control and vegetation protection and restoration in desertification areas. During the 13th Five Year Plan period, China achieved remarkable results in desert ecosystem protection and desertification control, with a total of 10.978 million hectares of desertification prevention and control tasks completed. The recently released bulletin on China's land greening in 2021 shows that in 2021, China will complete 3.6 million hectares of afforestation, 3.0667 million hectares of grass and grassland improvement, and 1.44 million hectares of desertification and rocky desertification land. According to the national ecological meteorological Bulletin of 2021 issued by the China Meteorological Administration, in 2021, the ecological quality of vegetation in China was the best since 2000, the grassland yield in China was the highest since 2000, and the surface ecology in most desertification areas in the North continued to improve. Combating desertification is a common challenge facing mankind. From the submission of the first national implementation action plan in 1995 to the successful holding of the 13th Conference of the parties to the United Nations Convention to combat desertification (COP13) in 2017, China's desertification control work has successfully achieved a "three-level jump", from the initial follow-up to the international leading new situation, providing a reference desertification control model for all parts of the world, which will symbolize the continuous extension of green vitality. Afforestation and greening —— Inherit the spirit of struggle In the long yellow sand, seeking a green living space is not only a struggle of material, but also a confrontation of spirit. In March, sand compaction activities in spring began in Wuwei, Zhangye and other places along the desert area of Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province. Party members, cadres, volunteers and forest farm workers took part in it one after another. They were busy. Everyone scrambled and compared. After work, rows of neat grass squares extended to control wind and sand and protect new green. In October 2021, the Department of land and space ecological restoration of the Ministry of natural resources released the collection of typical cases of China's ecological restoration to promote the "China scheme" of win-win ecology and development to the world, and "desertification control of Gulang babusha forest farm" was selected as a typical case. Babusha is located in the southern edge of Tengger Desert. It was once the largest windblown sand estuary in Gulang County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province. The wild sand swept through, swallowing farmland and villages. In 1981, as the frontier of the "Three North" shelter forest, Gulang county began to control the desert and tried out the policy of "government subsidy and individual contracting, who controls and owns" for babusha. The yellow sand is reckless and there is no grass. It's not easy to govern the desert! "Desertification control, count me in!" Shi man, the old secretary of Yiquan brigade, was the first to stand up. Then he Falin, Zhang Runyuan, Guo chaoming, Luo yuankui and Cheng Hai joined. In the form of joint household contract, they set up babusha collective forest farm to protect their homes and pledge to turn the desert into an oasis! "Kowtow one step at a time, one seedling and one ladle of water." The old men took pains to plant trees. Tired, fall asleep and let the sun bite; When you are hungry, set up a pot with stones and soak steamed buns in boiling water as rice. I didn't expect that after the strong wind, less than half of the saplings survived. The six old men were not discouraged. They tried again and again, failed again and again... While seeking advice and groping, they finally found that burying wheat straw around the tree nest could fix the sand and keep the saplings in the wind. So they turned to the method of "one tree, one handful of grass, press the sand and prevent the wind" to fight yellow sand again. Slowly, the survival rate of seedlings was improved. The green dots are dyed like stars in the sky. The four seasons go back and forth, and the sun and moon rise and fall. The heads of the six old men turned white. They watered 42000 mu of desert with sweat, and the surrounding land and villages and towns were protected. The old men once agreed: "no matter how hard and tired, each family must have one person to cure the eight step sand." Sand control has been carried out continuously. The forest farm's three generations of desertification control people have continued to struggle, and completed a total of more than 200000 mu of desertification control and afforestation, with an area of 430000 mu of closed cultivation, management and protection. The desert around babusha has been basically controlled. The green here continues to extend, and babusha has also moved to a new stage of improving quality and efficiency. The flowers swayed in the wind, and the local chickens wandered around looking for delicious food. Today's babusha has lush trees and bright life. In Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, Shi Guangyin also wrote a magnificent chapter of persistent greening and afforestation in yellow sand. "I've only done one thing in my life: stop the sand!" This is Shi Guangyin's ambition to experience the harm of sandstorm since childhood, and it is also a lifelong commitment of an old Party member to the party. On June 29, 2021, in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the people in Beijing, Shi Guangyin, who has been in the party for 48 years, walked slowly onto the podium and wore the "July 1 Medal" representing the highest honor of the party. Shi Guangyin was born in Dingbian County, Yulin City, on the southern edge of Mu Us Desert. For decades, he led the masses to control desertification and afforestation on the southern edge of the Maowusu Desert, and made outstanding contributions to completely changing the harsh environment of "sand advancing and people retreating". 99% of the desertified land in Shaanxi Province is concentrated in Yulin city. In Yulin, once "yellow sand billows, ten ploughs and nine harvests". In 1968, after being elected as the team leader of getatao village of haiziliang commune in Dingbian County, Shi Guangyin led the people to afforestation 14000 mu in three years, making haiziliang the first oasis. In 1984, taking advantage of the spring breeze of reform and opening up, Shi Guangyin set up a desertification control company, contracted to control more than 3000 mu of barren sand. Insufficient funds, what to do? Shi Guangyin sold 84 sheep and a mule raised at home. His fellow villagers pieced together enough money for saplings and plunged into the vast sand sea. Since 1986, Shi Guangyin has led the villagers to fight wolf nest sand, one of the largest areas of haiziliang desert sand. The difficulty of desertification control is beyond imagination. We drank the muddy water from the sand pit, ate the dried corn buns, and even chewed the poplar bark. In the spring of 1988, Shi Guangyin led the villagers to fight "wolf's nest sand" for the third time, adopted the newly learned "shielding sand control method", worked wherever they went and slept, and finally won the victory, and 90% of the seedlings survived. Over the past decades, Shi Guangyin and his villagers have planted more than 53 million trees (clumps) on 250000 mu of barren sand and alkali beaches, repeatedly afforestation an area of 350000 mu, and built a "Green Great Wall". Today, Shaanxi has become the first province in China to completely "tie" the mobile sand, creating a miracle of world desertification control. In the history of sand control in China, there is a struggle story behind every touch of green. In Lingwu, Ningxia, Wang Youde led his staff to plant 600000 mu of trees, effectively preventing the southward movement and westward expansion of the Mu Us Desert; In Saihanba mechanical forest farm, three generations of forest management